As I told you last week, I hate to pick week 1s NFL games.
But, surprisingly, I had a decent week.
I went 8-6-2 against the spread and a straight 10-6 for a decent start in 2024. NFL season. The unpredictability of the first week is a challenge. The next part tries to find out how much of Week 1 is real.
Let’s hope I’ve done a decent job of spotting the fakes here because I’m hoping to keep my head above .500 after two weeks.
The first week wasn’t so bad.
Let’s hope Week 2 is even better.
Thursday, 8:15 PM ET (Prime Video)
Josh Allen was the owner of the Miami Dolphins with an 11-2 record in his career. That won’t change in this one. It’s always tough for the Bills to play in the heat, but this is a night game. Sure, it’s a short week, but the Bills will do enough on defense and Allen will win late. He continues his mastery of the dolphins.
Select: Bills 28, Dolphins 24
Sunday, 1 p.m. ET (CBS, Paramount+)
It’s the second straight road game for the Raiders against a team playing its first home game with a rest — and on the East Coast. It’s a brutal outing for the Raiders. Their offense struggled against Chargers and will be here. The Ravens will not fight. Lamar Jackson is having a good game.
Select: Ravens 28, Raiders 16
Sunday, 1 p.m. ET (CBS, Paramount+)
It’s a long road trip for the Chargers in an early time zone, but the Panthers are bad. They were awful in their opener and will now be without a defensive attack Derrick Browntheir best defensive player. The offense is really bad. Look for the Chargers to win on both lines of scrimmage as they pick up a win on the road.
Select: Chargers 26, Panthers 9
Sunday, 1 p.m. ET (Fox, fubo)
This game features the teams with the top two results last week. The Cowboys will play at home after a win over Brown colorwhile the Saints are away for the first time. The Dallas defense stifled against the Browns and I think that carries over against the Saints. The Cowboys go up 2-0, but it’s close.
Select: Cowboys 23, Saints 18
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Sunday, 1 p.m. ET (Fox, fubo)
This is a rematch of last season’s playoff game won by the Lions. The Bucs played tight in that game, but this is a tall order with a damaged secondary. Even so, you are looking Baker Mayfield to keep them in it again. The Lions will win narrowly.
Select: Lions 30, Bucs 27
Sunday, 1 p.m. ET (Fox, fubo)
This will be Malik Willis for the Packers with Jordan Love out. It’s a real challenge for Matt LaFleur and the coaching staff. The Colts made some big plays on offense against Texansbut gave up a bunch. The Packers will rally around their new quarterback, but it won’t be enough. Colts win on the road.
Select: Colts 23, Packers 20
Sunday, 1 p.m. ET (CBS, Paramount+)
The Jaguars blew a fourth-quarter lead in a loss to the Dolphins, while Cleveland lost at home to Dallas. Deshaun Watson it was awful. This is a tough ask to get back on the road against a Jaguars defense that has been slowing down Miami. Look for Jacksonville to get in the win column.
Select: Jaguars 24, Browns 19
Sunday, 1 p.m. ET (CBS, Paramount+)
Both of these teams impressed in their Week 1 wins. The 49ers pushed well Nozzles defense without Christian McCaffrey. This Minnesota defense impressed against New York and I think they will play well here. This is close. Really close, but give it to the Vikings on offense.
Select: Vikings 22, 49ers 21
Sunday, 1 p.m. ET (Fox, fubo)
It’s a long first road trip for the Seahawks, facing an upset team Bengali women last week. The Patriots defense was good in that game, and Seattle has issues on the offensive line. I think it shows when the Pats win a low scoring game behind their defense.
Select: Pats 20, Seahawks 16
Sunday, 1 p.m. ET (CBS, Paramount+)
These two looked bad in their Week 1 losses. The Jets’ defense struggled, while the Titans’ offense looked poor. Will Lewis it has to be better. The Titans defense was outstanding last week. That defense will hold them in this one and Levis will beat it with late offense.
Select: Titans 23, Jets 20
Sunday, 1 p.m. ET (Fox, fubo)
Both are coming off losses, bad ones too. The Giants seemed to be the worse of the two teams, and now they’re out on the road. Commanders will get some big plays from Jayden Danielsbut the Giants will regroup here to win it.
Select: Giants 21, Commanders 19
Sunday, 4:05 p.m. ET (Fox, fubo)
The Cardinals blew a big lead in Buffalo last week and now face a division rival in their home opener. The Rams are playing back-to-back away games, which is always difficult. They also got hammered on the offensive line. But the Rams have owned the Cardinals, winning 13 of their last 15. Not this time.
Select: Cardinals 27, Rams 21
Sunday, 4:25 p.m. ET (CBS, Paramount+)
The Steelers are playing back-to-back games on the road because their defense won last week vs Falcons. That defense travels and will make life miserable Bo Nixwho struggled to open. This will be a low scoring game Justin Fields at Steelers quarterback. It’s close, but Pittsburgh takes over.
Select: Steelers 17, Broncos 16
Sunday, 4:25 p.m. ET (CBS, Paramount+)
The Bengals were poor in their first loss to the Patriots, but have always played well against the Chiefs s Joe Burrow. The forward doesn’t have the firepower to compete with the Chiefs right now. Look for Patrick Mahomes have fun with his speedy new receivers as the Chiefs go up 2-0.
Select: Chiefs 30, Bengals 20
Chicago Bears at Houston Texans (-6.5)
Sunday, 8:20 p.m. ET (NBC, fubo)
This will be the first away game for Caleb Williams after a poor first start in a win over the Titans. He has to be better. The Texans impressed with the road win, but gave up some big plays to the Colts. The Bears defense will slow down CJ. Stroudbut the turnovers will give the Texans the win.
Select: Texans 23, Bears 13
Monday, 8:15 p.m. ET (ESPN, fubo)
The Eagles will get some extra rest here after last Friday’s game when they beat Green Bay. The Falcons were lifeless on offense against the Steelers, while the Eagles moved at will against the Packers. That will continue here. Kirk Cousins he’ll be better than he was a week ago, but not quite what the Falcons need to win it.
Select: Eagles 27, Falcons 24